


prompt #16: i can explain

by zukoskataraa



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: College AU, F/M, Secretly Dating, Sorry Not Sorry, bad boy zuko, bc i cant write canon, but so is Zuko, im posting this at midnight in my timezone so happy new year, jet is a bitch, katara is a tease, tw: harassment (kinda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:34:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28452480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zukoskataraa/pseuds/zukoskataraa
Summary: warnings: cursing, harassment-ish, teasing
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 36
Collections: 50 Dialogue Prompts





	prompt #16: i can explain

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: cursing, harassment-ish, teasing

Zuko walks up to Katara’s dorm room, knocking on the door three times. It was currently 2:17pm, and Katara should be alone in her dorm while her dorm-mate, Toph, should be in class until 4. Katara opens the door and smiles when she sees Zuko. 

“Hi.” Zuko says as he leans down to give her a kiss. Katara blushes as she puts her hand on Zuko’s cheek, kissing him back. They pull away a few seconds later, and Katara takes Zuko’s hand as they walk inside the dorm room. Zuko closes and locks the door on the way in, putting his bag down on the ground.

“Did Sokka invite you to his frat party?” Katara asks, as she enters her room. Zuko sits down on her bed, and pulls Katara towards him, making her sit on his lap. Katara giggles as Zuko wraps his arms around her waist, burying his head in her neck.

“Yeah, he did. You?” He asks, gently nibbling her collarbone as to not leave a mark.

“Yup. But I don’t know if I want to go. His frat mates are creepy.” Katara says and Zuko chuckles.

“We don’t have to go. We can just stay in my room, watch some netflix,” Zuko says each statement while planting a kiss on Katara’s collarbone each time. “And, you know. Chill.” He says the last part in a deep voice, making Katara hold her breath.

“Sokka’s gonna find it weird if _both_ of us don’t go, Zuko.” Katara says.

“Okay, true. So we go to the party, but we can’t even go together because our relationship is still a secret to literally everyone.” Zuko says, and Katara sighs.

“Hey, we can go together, and probably hang out together too.” Katara says, unsure.

“Kat, everyone knows me. They’ll assume that if I go with you, I’m dating you. Which, I am. But, you get my point.” Zuko says and Katara nods.

“I wish we could go on dates in public. And not hide this anymore.” Katara sighs and Zuko hugs Katara tighter, resting his head on her shoulder.

“I know, babe. But, Sokka’s gonna kill me if he finds out that we’re dating.” Zuko says.

“This is what I get for dating the bad boy.” Katara jokes and Zuko chuckles.

“Hey, it’s not that bad. You get the whole package with me. You get a bad boy who’s smart, caring, lovable, and amazing in bed.” Zuko gently pokes Katara’s sides for every word he says, and Katara laughs.

“Weird. Don’t forget weird.” She says, gently poking Zuko’s cheeks as she gets up to grab her phone from her desk, and Zuko pouts. “Okay so we’ll go to the party later, for like thirty-ish minutes. Then we can head back to your place after that.” She says, sending a message to Sokka.

“Deal.” Zuko says, laying down on Katara’s bed, yawning.

“Are you sleepy, mister bad boy? What kept you up all night?” Katara asks, laying down next to Zuko, propping her arms up on the bed.

“You really love to tease me, huh? I was up all night finishing a paper, and I had a test to study for.” Zuko says, tapping Katara’s nose. She giggles.

“You should rest. We can’t have a sleepy bad boy at the party later now, can we?” Katara says, playing with Zuko’s bangs.

“It would be a sin to have me fall asleep at the party.” Zuko chimes, chuckling. “But I don't want to leave.” He pouts. Katara giggles.

“You’re so cute. I hate it.” She says, leaning down to give Zuko a kiss. Zuko puts his hand on Katara’s cheek, deepening the kiss. Zuko slides his tongue in Katara’s mouth, earning a moan from the brunette and Zuko smirks. Katara pulls away a few seconds later, panting.

“That was an uncomfortable kissing position.” She says, sitting up. Zuko chuckles as he sits up as well. 

“And just as we were about to get to the good part.” Zuko says and Katara laughs, lightly slapping his arm.

“You need to get some rest, mister.” She says, standing up.

“Can’t I just take a nap here?” Zuko asks, yawning.

“No, because both of us might fall asleep and Toph could walk in on us and then we’d both busted.” Katara says, grabbing Zuko’s hands in hers, trying to make him stand up. “Now come on.” She says, pulling. Zuko doesn’t budge, he just laughs. 

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Kat.” Zuko says, amused. Katara huffs as she pulls him again. Nothing. 

“You’re a fucking whale. How much do you even weigh, Zuko?” Katara says and Zuko easily pulls Katara towards him, and now she’s sitting on his lap, straddling him. Katara gulps.

“I’m not that heavy, babe. You just gotta exercise more, like I keep telling you.” Zuko says, putting his hands on either side of her waist. Katara pouts, crossing her arms.

“I’m too lazy to exercise.” She says and Zuko chuckles. He leans close to her, lips touching her ear. Katara holds her breath.

“I know an exercise we could do. Something for… cardio.” He whispers, his hands sliding under her shirt. Katara closes her eyes as Zuko’s lips kiss her neck, his hands touching her stomach, slowly going up.

“Z-Zuko, we shouldn’t.” She breathes, placing her hands on Zuko’s chest. Zuko chuckles, pulling away. 

“Got it.” He says, fixing Katara’s shirt. Katara giggles as she plays with Zuko’s bangs.

“Ah, wait. I have to meet with my group mates in the library later at 3, so I should start getting ready. Try and take a nap if you can.” She says, pecking Zuko’s nose as she stands up, walking to her closet. 

“I will definitely try.” Zuko says as he lies down, closing his eyes. Katara quietly hums to herself as she picks out an outfit. Katara grabs her pink and white striped cropped sweater and a pair of denim pants, gently setting them down at the edge of her bed. She sits down on her vanity, putting on some light makeup. She changes into her chosen outfit, adding some finishing touches with hoop earrings and a gold necklace with a dandelion pendant in the middle that Zuko had given to her for their first monthsary. She puts her chocolate brown hair in a half-ponytail.

She grabs her bag, putting her iPad and wallet inside, humming. She walks out of her room to grab her water bottle from the kitchen. She places the bottle in her bag, and grabs her other essentials such as her phone and keys and places them in her bag as well. She walks up to Zuko, sitting beside him. She leans close to him, her lips barely touching his ear.

“Zuko.” She whispers. “Zuko, you gotta get up.” Katara says, placing a hand on his chest. Zuko groans, slowly opening his eyes. He’s greeted by a smiling Katara, who gives him a wink. “Were you able to take a quick nap?” She asks, brushing his bangs to the side. Katara really loved his bangs.

“Yeah.” He says, his voice groggy. Katara blushes; that was Katara’s weakness. Zuko’s voice every time he woke up made Katara weak in the knees. Zuko rubs his eyes, clearly still sleepy.

“I-I gotta go now, baby.” Katara says, looking away. Zuko hums, sitting up.

“Is something wrong?” He asks, his voice still groggy. Katara had to get out of there, fast.

“Nothing! I, uh, nothing. I’m gonna… go. In a few minutes. You should leave first.” Katara says, flustered. She stands up, grabbing her bag. Zuko looks at her every movement, confused.

“Um, okay.” He says, still confused, and his voice is finally back to normal. He stands up to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I love your necklace.” He teases, knowing that it was him who got it. “See ya at the party later.” He says as he walks out of Katara’s room. Katara hears the front door shut, and she sighs as she plops down onto her bed. She would never admit that Zuko’s groggy voice turns her on. She’d rather die than have him find out. She stands up and starts to walk to the library. Her afternoon could have been spent with Zuko if only she didn’t have a project due by the end of the week.

-

Katara receives a message at 9:15pm. It was from Zuko, asking her where she was. She had just gotten home from dinner, which she spent with her group mates. She sighed as she sat down on her bed. She replies to him, saying that she’d be there in ten minutes. She changes out of her comfortable outfit, to find a new one. Something to slightly tease Zuko with. She wears her white, satin spaghetti top with a plunging neckline, her black skinny jeans, and a belt. She wears darker makeup, and lets her hair down. She wears a gold bracelet, which was a gift from Zuko. She grabs some money, putting it in her pocket and grabs her phone and keys as she walks out of her room.

“Whoa, you look hot roomie.” Toph says from the living room. Katara smiles.

“Thanks, Toph. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Katara says as she puts on her black stilettos. “Bye!”

“Take care, Katara!” Toph says as Katara closes the door. She texts Zuko, telling him that she’s on her way there. She hums to herself as she walks to the frat, which was a block away from her dorm. She turned the corner and could already hear the music down the street. As she nears the frat, the music gets louder, and more people were outside either drinking or making out - or both. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she sauntered down the entrance, looking for Zuko. 

Zuko was getting a drink at the kitchen as some random girl kept clinging onto him. He kept looking at the living room, waiting for Katara. He instantly spotted Katara walking towards him, despite all the people there. He holds his breath, noticing what Katara was wearing. Katara locks eyes with Zuko, winking as she walks past him, heading towards Sokka, who was in the backyard. Katara knew what she was doing. That little minx. 

Twenty minutes later, Zuko is in the living room, playing cards with Sokka and his frat mates while Katara was nowhere to be found. He grabs his phone, sending her a message, asking her if she wanted to leave.

“Who are ya texting? Your girlfriend?” Sokka teases, wiggling his eyebrows. Zuko scoffs.

“None of your business.” Zuko replies.

Katara found herself using the bathroom in the third floor of the frat house, as the lower floors rooms were all occupied. She was alone on the third floor, save for a couple in the room across her. She replies to Zuko, telling him that she was still in the bathroom, and she’d head down now. They would meet down the street.

“I gotta go, Sokka. See you guys soon.” Zuko says, and Sokka sighs.

“Already? It’s still early.” Sokka says and Zuko nods.

“I know. But anyway, bye.” Zuko stands up, walking towards the staircase. He would just casually stand there and wait for Katara to come down.

Katara finishes washing her hands, and just as she’s about to get out of the bathroom, the door opens, startling her. She looks up to see Jet, her ex and Sokka’s frat mate. And he was clearly drunk.

“Ah, Katara. You look…” His eyes wander down her body, and Katara immediately feels disgusted. “W-Wonderful.”

“Bye.” Is all Katara says as she walks past Jet. Jet grabs her arm and pulls her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. “Let go of me!” Katara says, struggling to get out of his grasp.

“No. Why would y-you wear something like that? J-Just to tease me?" He asks, leaning close to her. Katara shakes her head. Jet reeked of alcohol. She couldn’t scream because the music was too loud, and no one would hear her.

"Fuck off, and let me go!" Katara says, almost screaming now. Jet chuckles.

"Still as feisty as ever I see." Jet says, pushing Katara against a wall. Katara closes her eyes and leans away as Jet leans closer.

"The fuck are you doing?" An angry voice yells. Katara opens her eyes to see Zuko walking towards them. Jet lets go of Katara, and Katara immediately runs to Zuko, closing her eyes as she hugs him. He wraps her in his arms, caressing her back.

"Zuko, I'm so glad you're here." Katara says.

"Oh, what's this? Zuko and Katara? You two are dating?" Jet asks, amused. "I wonder how Sokka is gonna feel about this."

"Are you crazy? You harassed Katara. Sokka's gonna kill you." Zuko hisses, fuming. 

"Yo, what's happening here?" A voice says. Zuko looks behind him to see Sokka, and Katara looks up, eyes wide. Sokka sees the couple, gasping.

"What is this?" Sokka asks, making gestures towards the couple.

" **I can explain**." Katara says, walking towards Sokka. She puts a hand on her brother’s arm. "I know this looks bad, but Jet is the bad guy here."

"This fucker harassed your sister. I arrived just in time." Zuko says, defending Katara.

"What the fuck, Jet?" Sokka asks, crossing his arms.

"No, don't believe them bro." Jet says.

"You think I'd believe _you_ over my sister?" Sokka scoffs. "You're out." Sokka says to Jet. "You two, in here." He walks towards a room and opens it. The couple follows him inside, and Sokka locks the door.

"Are you okay, sis?" Sokka asks, worried.

“I’m fine. I’m just lucky that Zuko was there.” Katara says and Sokka nods.

“I’m glad you’re okay. But I’m killing Jet.”

“No objections here.” Zuko says and Katara giggles.

“Okay, now can you two explain this.” Sokka says ‘this’ as he makes gestures to the couple.

"We're dating?" Katara says, confused.

"How long?"

"Four months." Zuko replies and Sokka gasps.

"What the fuck? Zuko, I told you what would happen if you hurt Katara." Sokka says, all protective now.

"He hasn't hurt me!" Katara says, defending Zuko. "And it's not like he's the only one in the relationship. If you're gonna get mad at him, you might as well be mad at me too." Katara says. Sokka sighs.

"Why him of all people?" Sokka says, joking.

"Hey!" Zuko and Katara say in unison.

"He's not that bad." Katara says, clinging onto Zuko's left arm.

"Are you gonna kill me?" Zuko asks, and Sokka scoffs.

"I wish I could. But I won't. I can't, obviously." Sokka says. "You better take care of her, Zuko. And if you hurt her, I'll make you regret everything." Sokka says and Zuko nods.

"Yes, sir!" Zuko salutes and Katara giggles. 

"You two stay safe, alright? I gotta go find Jet." Sokka says. He pats Zuko's arm and gives Katara a hug. Sokka leaves the room, and the couple lets out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Katara sits down on the bed, sighing. Zuko kneels down in front of her, putting a hand on her thigh.

“Are you okay, babe?” Zuko asks, looking up at her. Katara gives him a small smile, putting a hand on his cheek.

“Yeah. I just hate Jet so much.” She says. “Thanks for saving me.”

“I’m just mad that I wasn’t with you in the first place.” Zuko sighs. He stands up and sits next to Katara, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Katara blushes and Zuko chuckles. “The next time we’re at a party, I’m never leaving your side.” Zuko states. Katara smiles.

“Does this mean we can go out together in public?” Katara asks and Zuko nods.

“I’m pretty sure that Jet told everyone already. Plus, the main reason we hid our relationship was because of Sokka. But now that he knows, there’s no point in hiding it anymore.” Zuko explains and Katara nods.

“Should we go to your place now?” Katara asks, winking.

“Yes. But before we do,” Zuko leans in and kisses Katara tenderly on her lips. Katara smiles as they pull away. “You look stunning, babe. As always.” Zuko says, admiring her outfit. Katara blushes.

“Aw, thank you Zuko. Do you like the outfit? I thought of you while choosing it.” She jokes and Zuko chuckles. 

“Always the tease.” He says, his voice husky as his index finger caresses Katara’s arm. Katara giggles as she stands up, grabbing Zuko’s hand.

“Let’s go.” She says and Zuko stands up. They walk out of the room in silence, holding hands as they head downstairs. Everyone’s eyes are immediately on them as they walk past the living room.

“Everyone’s looking.” Katara whispers and Zuko chuckles.

“Let them look. I want them all to know you’re mine.” Zuko says, making Katara blush. They make it to the front yard, and head down the street. 

“That was weird.” Katara says and Zuko chuckles as he gives her a peck on her forehead.

“Well, now everyone knows we’re dating.” Zuko says and Katara giggles.

“We did a great job hiding it for four months.” Katara says and Zuko nods.

“That we did. Now come on, let’s… celebrate.” He says, giving her a wink and Katara smiles as they walk towards Zuko’s apartment. Maybe hiding their relationship from everyone wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year, everyone!  
> tumblr: zukoskataraa


End file.
